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Foundations announced they're giving $20 million to trans issues. These stats show why.

These foundations just pledged a historic amount of money to support the transgender rights movement.

2015 has been a breakout year for the visibility of transgender people.

Laverne Cox and Janet Mock. Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Cosmopolitan.

President Obama became the first president to even utter the word "transgender" during a State of the Union address. Transgender model Andreja Pejic was featured in a Vogue photo spread. And former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner took the cover of Vanity Fair to accompany an in-depth interview about coming out as a transgender woman. Also? "Orange Is the New Black" breakout star Laverne Cox was cast in a network TV drama, and Janet Mock was a guest on Oprah's popular show "Super Soul Sunday." And that's just to name a few!

Visibility of trans folk and their issues is one thing, but financial resources to make real progress? That's been in short supply. Which is why this is completely awesome:

A group of nonprofits including the Arcus and NoVo foundations recently announced they're putting $20 million toward transgender issues over the next five years.

Trans activist CeCe McDonald (left) and Katie Burgess of the Trans Youth Support Network. Image via National LGBTQ Task Force/YouTube.

It's about time. Transgender leaders and their movement have been dramatically underfunded. And the need for resources has only increased because with more visibility comes, unfortunately, more backlash. More funding means being able to push back against harmful campaigns like ones that frame transgender people as sexual predators so they can't use gender-segregated bathrooms. (Yep, that happens.) It also means being able capitalize on the moment to push for better policies.

To be sure the money really has an impact, the nonprofits are funneling it directly to the community.

Photo by Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images.

Instead of going to organizations that include the T in LGBT as a part of their broader agenda, the money will be directed right to the people who know what trans people need best: transgender leaders and groups.

A report from Funders for LGBTQ Issues found that funding for trans issues is at a record high, with $8.3 million in funding in 2013. No small sum, but that only amounts to 0.015% of all foundation funding in the past 10 years. With the guidance of trans advisors, this coalition will give that percentage a much-needed boost.

The money is meant to empower grantees in a push for meaningful change — both culturally and legally — that will improve the lives of transgender people.

Photo by Ted Eytan/Flickr.

Visibility is good because it's a sign of cultural change and acceptance, but it isn't enough. That's why the coalition is focused on creating long-lasting change with an eye to these issues:

Economic justice: Transgender people are much more likely to be homeless, live in poverty, and experience workplace discrimination and harassment. A whopping 90% of trans people have experienced workplace harassment and discrimination. Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that trans people are four times as likely to live in extreme poverty, earning less than $10,000/year.

Improving access to health care: The widespread discrimination that transpeople experience takes a toll on both their physical and mental health. 41% of transgender people have attempted suicide, which is exponentially higher than the general population's 1.6% rate. And about half of trans people find themselves playing the role of teacher when they seek health care because so many providers are clueless when it comes to addressing trans needs.

Ending violence: What's often left out of the mainstream conversation about trans issues is that transgender folks — especially trans people of color — face an extremely high rate of violence. A National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs report found that almost three-quarters of hate violence homicide victims are transgender women, who largely underreport it because they are likely to experience additional violence at the hands of police.

These statistics show just how necessary this funding is.

Photo by Ted Eytan/Flickr.

That $20 million will allow nonprofits and leaders to get meaningful policy on the books that would require transgender people to be treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve. And if people don't want to follow non-discriminatory policies? Funding for organizations like the Transgender Law Center will help trans people get representatives fighting for them in court.

The funders hope this new financial commitment will create a domino effect in the philanthropic community.

Hopefully, this will just be the beginning. In an interview with BuzzFeed, Jason McGill of the Arcus Foundation said, "Transgender leaders and their movement have been dramatically underfunded. We anticipate that other funders will join us."

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see the impact of this much-needed change.

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Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

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The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

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A student accidentally created a rechargeable battery that could last 400 years

"This thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it’s still going." ⚡️⚡️

Steve Zylius/University of California, Irvine.

There's an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

There's no better example of that than a 2016 discovery at the University of California, Irvine, by doctoral student Mya Le Thai. After playing around in the lab, she made a discovery that could lead to a rechargeable battery that could last up to 400 years. That means longer-lasting laptops and smartphones and fewer lithium ion batteries piling up in landfills.

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The fascinating reasons why anger and irritability may be disguising your depression

Sometimes anger is hiding something bigger than a fleeting emotion.

Therapy in a Nutshell|YouTube

How anger and irritability can disguise depression

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But sometimes anger is hiding something bigger than a fleeting emotion. Emma McAdam, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and host of the YouTube channel, Therapy in a Nutshell, posted a video explaining how anger and irritability can actually be a symptom of depression.

The video really breaks down how the media portrays depression versus some of the lesser known symptoms of depression. When people think of depression, they often imagine someone that's extremely sad all the time and struggling to do basic skills. But depression can show up hidden behind other symptoms like irritability, insomnia, loss of appetite, and lack of focus.

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Researchers dumped tons of coffee waste into a forest. This is what it looks like now.

30 dump truck loads and two years later, the forest looks totally different.

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One of the biggest problems with coffee production is that it generates an incredible amount of waste. Once coffee beans are separated from cherries, about 45% of the entire biomass is discarded.

So for every pound of roasted coffee we enjoy, an equivalent amount of coffee pulp is discarded into massive landfills across the globe. That means that approximately 10 million tons of coffee pulp is discarded into the environment every year.

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Here’s what people facing food insecurity want you to know about solving the hunger problem in America

Even though America is the world’s wealthiest nation, about 1 in 6 of our neighbors turned to food banks and community programs in order to feed themselves and their families last year. Think about it: More than 9 million children faced hunger in 2021 (1 in 8 children).

In order to solve a problem, we must first understand it. Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, released its second annual Elevating Voices: Insights Report and turned to the experts—people experiencing hunger—to find out how this issue can be solved once and for all.

Here are the four most important things people facing hunger want you to know.

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Americans share the top 13 things foreigners should avoid when visiting the U.S.

Sorry, but you can't drive from New York to LA.

via RDNE Stock project/Pexels, Neal Wellons/Flickr and Karolina Wv/Pexels

An ambulance, a Waffle House and an angry bison.

While the United States is undeniably one of the most culturally dominant countries in the world, its depth and complexity go far beyond what most people understand before seeing it for themselves.

The U.S. is a melting pot of diverse cultures, histories and landscapes, creating a rich and complex national tapestry that takes time and travel to truly comprehend. Heck, even Americans ourselves have a hard time understanding each other from time to time.

It's a place where every state can feel like its own little world, each with its own traditions, accents and cuisines. So, it’s understandable that when many people from around the world visit for the first time, there are some things they probably wished they had known ahead of time.

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Service dog flunks out of training school in spectacular fashion

The other dogs can't believe what they are seeing.

Double H Canine Academy in Louisville, Kentucky is a place where dog owners can take their rambunctious pets and have them turned into respectable members of the family.

However, as you can tell in this hilarious video, not all dogs are meant to follow orders.

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